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This Practice Note draws on the information and guidance that are currently available to date, and will be revised to reflect the new ICO guidance once it has been finalised. Responsibility for recruitment If the employer lacks a dedicated personnel or HR team within the organisation: who will oversee and manage the recruitment process, and who will participate at the different stages of selection? are they fully familiar with the principles of sound recruitment practice, in particular concerning discrimination and other prohibited conduct under the Equality Act 2010, and with data protection under Assimilated Regulation (EU) 2016/679, UK GDPR and DPA 2018, or do they require training? Ensure intended HR staff, line managers and supervisors who will be involved in the recruitment process are available, and that provisional dates, eg for shortlisting and interviews, are diarised in good time as necessary Job description and person specification How has...

In this issue: Standard form contracts Building safety Expert witnesses Construction industry news Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Construction trackers Standard form contracts CLLS publishes 2024 edition of Letter of Intent The CLLS has released the refreshed 2024 edition of its Letter of Intent. Our commentary reviews the revisions made. See News Analysis: City of London Law Society publishes 2024 edition of Letter of Intent. Court refuses declaratory relief in JCT termination payment dispute (Shaylor v Valesecure) In Shaylor Group Ltd (in administration) v Valesecure Property Ltd (in liquidation) [2024] EWHC 750 (TCC), the Technology and Construction Court declined to issue declarations regarding the contractor’s right to payment after the termination of a JCT-based contract. In doing so, the court explored noteworthy issues of contractual interpretation, including the methodology for assessing sums owed to the contractor post-termination and the impact of an ineffective assignment by the employer. See News Analysis:...

In this issue: UK NSI Act UK mergers UK competition policy EU mergers EU antitrust EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation New and updated content Daily and weekly news alerts Caselex UK NSI Act Government consults on proposed reforms to the NSI Act 2021 mandatory notification regime The UK Government has launched a consultation on proposed revisions to the National Security and Investment Act 2021 (Notifiable Acquisition) (Specification of Qualifying Entities) Regulations 2021, which determine the scope of mandatory filings under the NSI Act. This follows the 2024 statutory review of the NARs and engagement through the 2023 Call for Evidence. The Government sets out targeted adjustments intended to keep the regime proportionate and effective at capturing national security risks in sensitive parts of the UK economy, whilst ensuring that the vast majority of transactions remain outside its reach. Key proposals include: New standalone mandatory notification areas: creating two separate categories for...

NSI Act Government consults on proposed reforms to the NSI Act 2021 mandatory notification regime The UK Government has opened a consultation on changes to the National Security and Investment Act 2021 (Notifiable Acquisition) (Specification of Qualifying Entities) Regulations 2021 (the NARs), which determine when a mandatory notification is required under the NSI Act. This follows the Government’s 2024 statutory review and prior engagement with stakeholders through the 2023 Call for Evidence. The package sets out targeted refinements to keep the regime proportionate and effective at capturing national security risks in sensitive areas of the UK economy, whilst ensuring the overwhelming majority of deals proceed unaffected. Key proposals include: New standalone mandatory notification areas: creation of distinct categories for Semiconductors and Critical Minerals, both currently within the Advanced Materials sector; and relocating Computing Hardware, now a standalone sector, into the Semiconductors category. New sector added: introduction of a mandatory notification area for the Water sector, focused on acquisitions of water operating companies...

Looking at secondments from the law firm’s perspective Large clients have long become used to insisting on free secondees as a condition of joining or staying on a panel. Gaining a concession of this sort from a law firm might seem appealing, yet it can be a poor choice if there are other routes to client benefit that do not generate the same operational headache for the firm. No firm is keen to release its top associates on secondment; equally, if the secondee is not a strong ambassador, the client’s experience will suffer. So many associates have been hired directly by clients, or have chosen to move in-house, on the back of secondments, that firms are increasingly reluctant. Practices tend to be more open where some payment is offered and the secondment is not a five‑day‑a‑week commitment. Be clear about your aims, and ask whether different options would work better. Reflect on what you truly need from a secondee: someone to bridge a resource gap due...

This Practice Note outlines legal professional privilege (LPP) in Scottish civil litigation. It should be read alongside Practice Note: Privilege in Scotland—general principles, which sets out the two main categories of legal professional privilege: legal advice privilege (LAP) and litigation privilege (LP), and also refers to without prejudice privilege, waiver of privilege and common interest privilege. For the position in England and Wales, see: Privilege and without prejudice communications—overview and Practice Note: Privilege—general principles which, in addition to providing an overview, link to more detailed guidance on aspects of LPP. Key: FOI—freedom of information LAP—legal advice privilege LP—litigation privilege LPP—legal professional privilege Accessing privileged material in Scottish civil litigation In Scotland, several mechanisms enable recovery of otherwise privileged documents or communications, either within proceedings or outwith the court process, including: section 1 of the Administration of Justice (Scotland) Act 1972 (AJ(S)A 1972) commission and diligence Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FI(S)A 2002) ...

This Practice Note explores the key legal and commercial considerations when bringing in a third party to create a new website. Websites range from straightforward plain‑text HTML pages to sophisticated internet applications, social networking services and business platforms. Modern users expect sites to be advanced, interactive, functional and responsive—requirements that designers and developers must embed in both planning and build phases. Agencies typically provide teams of developers and designers to manage projects end to end. However, it is also common for these specialists to work independently on a freelance basis—either outsourced by agencies or contracted directly by customers. Consequently, a customer may not deal with one agency but with several developers/designers separately at different stages of a development project. In all cases, it is vital to appreciate the role and purpose of each specialist discipline throughout the development process, including the nature of the work each undertakes. For template agreements, see Precedents: Website development agreement—short form Website development agreement—long form Website design ...

This Agreement is entered into on [ insert date ] (the Commencement Date) by and between: Parties [ insert supplier name ], a company incorporated in England and Wales, whose registered number is [ insert company number ] and whose registered office is at [ insert registered office ] (Supplier); and [ insert customer name ], a company incorporated in England and Wales, whose registered number is [ insert company number ] and whose registered office is at [ insert registered office ] (Customer). Each of the Supplier and the Customer is a party, and together the Supplier and the Customer are the parties. Background The Supplier is [ an experienced software developer and ] [ insert the Supplier’s background details and the background to the relevant transaction ]. The Customer is [ insert the Customer’s background details ]. Subject to this Agreement, the Supplier shall develop software for the Customer and will licence (or arrange...

Dated [ date ], this Agreement is entered into between the parties identified below. Parties [ insert name of Customer ] [ of OR a company incorporated in [ England and Wales ] with registered number [ insert registered number ] and whose registered office is at [ insert address ] ] (the Customer) [ insert name of Supplier ] [ of OR a company incorporated in [ England and Wales ] with registered number [ insert registered number ] and whose registered office is at [ insert address ] ] (the Supplier) Each of the Supplier and the Customer is a party; together, they are the parties. Background The Customer carries on the business of [ insert description ]. The Supplier conducts the business of providing [ insert description of services ] to other businesses. The parties have agreed that the Supplier will provide services to the Customer on the terms contained in this Agreement....

This Agreement is entered into on [ date ] Parties [ insert name of supplier ] [ of OR trading as [ insert trading name ] of OR a company incorporated in [ England and Wales ] under number [ insert registered number ] whose registered office is at ] [ insert address ] (the Supplier); [ insert name of customer ] [ of OR trading as [ insert trading name ] of OR a company incorporated in [ England and Wales ] under number [ insert registered number ] whose registered office is at ] [ insert address ] (the Customer), (each of the Supplier and the Customer being a party, and together the Supplier and the Customer constituting the parties) Background The Supplier carries on the business of supplying [ insert description ] to other businesses. The Customer carries on the business of [ insert description ]. The parties have agreed that the Supplier...

A well-known problem amongst procurement professionals A widely recognised headache for procurement practitioners arises from the duty in regulation 53 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015), SI 2015/102 (PCR 2015, SI 2015/102, reg 53). It requires the ‘procurement documents’ to be accessible at the time a public contract is advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union (the Official Journal, or OJEU). In essence, contracting authorities must use the internet to provide unrestricted, complete and immediate access, at no cost, to those documents from the day a notice, issued under regulation 51, appears in the Official Journal, or from the day an invitation to confirm interest is dispatched. The issue most often raised, particularly for public procurements run under the restricted procedure (and comparable routes that involve a pre-qualification phase ahead of the award stage), is whether the invitation to tender and the specification must already be available when the contract notice is published in the OJEU. Timing this disclosure often proves challenging for contracting authorities...